Late funding a let-down, Electoral Commission says

THE return of writs by East Sepik, West Sepik and Northern is the result of a lot of hard work, Deputy Electoral Commissioner John Kalamoroh says. Kalamoro received the election writs from the three provinces yesterday on behalf of Electoral Commissioner Patilias Gamato. “I want to acknowledge the hard work by the provincial staff, election managers and the assistant election managers who have been part of the machinery in the provinces to support the election so far,” he said. “I want to thank all the officers from the provinces on their response and support so far, resulting in the writs being returned to ensure the success of election in those electorates,” Kalamoroh said. Northern provincial election steering committee chairman and deputy administrator Tako Gwae told The National that one of the biggest concerns was the timely release of funds. Gwae said the late release of funds had contributed to delays in delivering the election. “We had three days of rain and when we were finally ready to kick off, we did not have the funds on time to get to work. “There were logistical issues, choppers were grounded and we couldn’t do much but to wait for the funds and this is an area that has to be addressed in the next election.” Gwae accompanied the team from Northern which included election manager Peter Malaifeope, Ijivitari returning officer Ebamo Uduru and Sohe’s Dancan Korapeba. Vanimo-Green returning officer Anthony Makes also expressed similar concerns, saying the next election must be planned well with funding and logistics addressed properly. “Our biggest setback was funding, and we had logistical problems. I was under so much pressure to deliver a member which I did and it’s a relief.”